howls moving castle 2: sophies secret
by wanderlust823
Summary: sophies being watched. someones after her, and theyve become desperate enough to kill. when sophie and her family become fugitives from them, they scramble for the answers. but the answers just might make them want to run into their enemies arms in surend
1. Chapter 1

ok, first story. i no i messed up...o well. enjoy! tell me what u think. i need some critics!(ok, i no my spelling is bad, so dont put that up)

chapter 1

Sophie's heart raced with fear. Her breath was heavy. Her heels stung from the raw skin pounding on the cement road. She was alone. Howl was still at home; she had sent Mark home when it began to get dark. No wonder Sophie couldn't fall asleep. She was being watched.

The goopy creatures followed close behind her, seeping through the solid walls. They couldn't be the witches henchmen. She was stripped of them, wasn't she? And these were gray, not the tar black of hers.

She took a left.

Who did these creatures work for, and what did they want from poor little Sophie? Howl, she imagined. It was always Howl.

Another left.

Her eyes widened. There, at the end of the road was a large, brick wall, awaiting to greet her with the gruesome end of her life.

"oh crap." she muttered under her breath. She stopped. The wall of black closed in on her, engulfing her body in its slime.

She lost breath. It was silent. At first she struggled to get out for air, but her body began to shut down. She stopped moving. Then her mind began to fade, till she was unconscious, atleast from the outside. But inside, she still struggled. Sophie was panicking. She had to get out. She had to survive.

A intense pain woke her. Her body jolted, her back arching and mouth screaming, though no sound would escape. Something was trying to dig its way inside her.

The mind is a complicated thing. There's room for one, and one alone. That person spends its years searching through the maze, looking for new gifts to unleash. When another enters, that maze disappears. It hands you the thing it treasures the most, so you can save it from exposure.

Sophie held this defense. Wile the creatures were trying to peer into her true potential, Sophie was seeing something of her she had never seen before.

A small light started at her chest. Her musles relaxed. The light grew, till she was surrounded by a large bubble that gleemed with a lavender fire-like shell. Her body glowed with it. The blue dress Sophie wore burned to ash, and disappeared through the transparent barrier. Her eyes opened with a blank stare, though inside her lids were not those she knew. They were blue. All blue, like flame in two glass orbs.

The sphere blasted through the gray goop, exploding it into thousands of tiny droplets around the area. They were gone.

Sophie's vision blurred. The pain rushed back to her, and she fell to her knees, then to the cold, hard, ground. The last sight her eyes met was the faint shape of the tall, thin Howl rushing toward her. She smiled weakly. She was safe.


	2. Chapter 2

ok, well, i decided to go 1st person with this. sry if it gets confused, i just feel more comphterable this way! o, and i promise this ones better.

review please!!!!

chapter 2

i woke in our warm bed. calsifer was speaking.

"look Howl, i know your worried, but it'll be alright! they're not going to attack again!" he wispered.

" calsifer, you know as well as i do they've been watching us. we're not safe here. not as long as _their_ alive." Howl replied. i could sence the stress in his voice. was it because of me?

"but theyve always been around...why now? and, why with sophie?" they paused to look at me.

"sophie..." Howl started. he took a deep breath. "i cant believe its been two years since we met. i always knew she was special. thats why i stopped her in that ally. but...she wasnt powerful enough for them to be interested in her...or me." them? who were they and why were we in danger? i tried to speak, but my face was frozen. my mind was open, but my body was still dead. so i just listned.

"what happened to her out there should have killed her. maybe sophie is a bit more complicated than we might think?" calsifer said. Howl groaned.

"i dont have the streingth to talk about this." he mumbled. "i havnt slept in days. im just going to lay down for a wile..." he snapped his fingers, and calsifer dissapeared.

"you jerk Howl!!!! I HATE IT WHEN YOU DO THAT!!!!!" calsifer shouted up the steps. i laughed in my head. they were best friends, yet they hated eachother. strange, but i guess thats just the way guys are...i think. theyre always going to be a mistery to me.

howl laid on the bed next to me.

"Sophie..." he mummbled again. "what happened to you in the ally back there? somethings different about you. Markle and Calcifer cant feel it...but i can." for the first time i remembered what happened last night. and honestly, i had no idea. but what ever happened, had never happened before. "oh sophie, please wake up." he wispered. his moist lips met mine. he was so gracefull, especially when he kisses. but this one was different. his lip quivered with something- from sleepyness? or maybe it was of fear for me. i could feel it when we touched. something weighed on his heart. i had to kiss him back. _i had to._

my groan squeezed through my mouth. my eyes cracked. Hwol jumped three feet into the air.

"Sophie!! Sophie, canyou hear me??" he shook me hard, and i flopped around like raggedyAnne.

"stop it! stop it!" i shouted. he stopped me. "yes, im fine. i missed you too."

"oh thank God!" he cried, wrapping his arms around me. his eyes began to shimmer. "i thought you were going to leave me..."

"dont worry, Howl. those things wont get the best of me" i smiled. he kissed me again.

"its wonderful to see you smile again." he said.

"you too." i replied. "Howl, i need to tell you something..."

"but first, why dont we celebrate?" he said, waving his hand over a empty glass so it filled with red wine.

"Howl, i- "

"please, sophie." he gave me a sweet face, "i've been greaving all week. i missed you. tell me later, k?" i paused. i guess it could wait...i smiled and laid back down. he kissed me, and slipped under the silk covers, grasping me in his arms. they were so warm and gentile. it seemed like they were made just for me. his fingers tingled my skin when he touched me. his arms carved into every curve and dip on my back. when he hugged me, i felt so beautiful. i never wanted to leave him again. for when im with him, i forget how to hurt. and after lasnight, i never wanted to hurt again.

the next morning, i awoke to a nock on the door.

"Sophie! sophie!" markles young, lively voice cried through the thick, chessnut door.

"uh, um...dont come in markle!! im still getting dressed!!" i made up.

"well hurry!" he shouted. i jumped out of bed and quickly pulled my dress over my head, and my boots on my feet. i ran over to howl.

"Howl!!" i wispered, so Markle wouldnt hear, "Howl, get up! markles here!!" he groaned, and rolled away from me. i scoueled at him. " why you lazy, no good wizard! if i didnt love you as much as i do, id--id-" markle swung open the door.i jumped three feet in the air, throwing the covers over howls head.

"oh..." he muttered, "why is howl--"

"what did you want to tell me markle?" i blurted to stop his curiosity.

" oh, yea. there's a strange letter for you downstairs." he sounded less excited about it compaired to before. "so what was howl--"

"why dont you show me this letter, Markle? id like for you to tell me all you know about it." i asked, stoping him once again.

"ok," he told me. i didnt really listen, though. i was sure id get more from calsifer than a 12 year old boy. we went downstairs.

"finally!!" calsifer cried to me. "you took long enough. its over on the table." i walked over to it. in big, blood red letters it read, "TO SOPHIE" i reached out to grab it, but i pulled my hand away. i looked to calsifer. 

"theres something wrong with it. its cursed, isnt it?" i said to him. i could tell when my hand went near it. i guess thats what happens when youve been cursed before. i could feel my heart speed up. the blood vesstles nearest to the curse woulu push back. my body would shiver.

"oh, hehe, did i forget to tell you?" calsifer muttered,"markle cant open it, and i cant burn it. so, yea, its cursed."

"oh, so its 'dont risk our lives, risk poor little sophies,' isnt it?" i snapped.

"Yea, pretty much." they said in unisin, shaking their heads. my face turned red.

"alright, lets get to the bottom of this." i sighed, rolling up my sleeves. i egnored the sensation my body gave me as i touched the envelope, and swiped it open. but as soon as my hand touched it, it flew out on its own, and the firy red letters burned on the paper.

"WE KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE. WE KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING. WE ARE ALWAYS WATCHING YOU. YOURE NEVER SAFE FROM US. WE WILL KILL YOU LIKE WE HAVE YOUR SISSTER." I ghasped. not(what ever her name was. does any1 no? i'll just call her lizzy) not lizzy.(there we go) she was her best friend growing up. her only friend till later on. 

"so this meand this is her--" i murrmered. Her blood. i screamed, falling to the ground in tears. the lights went heywire. the walls began to shake.

howl ran downstairs half dressed.

"sophie!" he cried over my dephening scream. he ran to my side and grabbed me gently, petting my silver hair. "its okay sweety, its okay." he calmed me. i stopped screaming, the lights stoping with me too. the paper fell to the ground, the letters in plain red ink. i burried my head in his chest, bawling. he leaned over to read it.

"why me? what do they want from me!! make them leave us alone, howl, make them leave us alone..." i cried.

"its alright, Sophie. they wont hurt us. i promise." he said, waving his hand over me so i fell into a deep sleep. i colapsed into him.

"shes going to be mad you did that to her." calsifer said.

"markle, take her upstairs for me." he ordered. mark draped me over his sholder and struggled to get me up the steps. "shes better that way. i hate to see her this miserable."

"what happened with the lights?" he asked.

"her, i emagine. im going to get dressed. tell Markle to pack his things. we're leaving in the morning." Howl stood up and went upstairs, tearing the bloody paper up and throwing it away.

"leaving..." he mumbled. things were getting really bad. if howl was taking the whole family, then they had to be.


	3. Chapter 3

the next morning, i awoke to the soft shake of Howls hand.

"sophie..." he muttered. i cracked my eyes. "sophie, get up." i slowly sat up, holding my head from the hard pound of a migrain.

"what happened?" i mumbled cluelessly. his eyes glistned in rememberance of the first time i learned of my sisters death.

"you...fainted. thats all." he lied. "get your things together. we're all going out." howl wisped away to the closet, searching through my clothes. i jumped out of bed.

"this early?" i asked, "i'm not even dressed! and why are you taking my clothes with you?" he glanced back at me without stopping what he was doing.

"well, im not quite sure if we're coming back this time." he said as if it ment nothing.

"wha-what do you mean, howl?" i questioned, forcing a smile across my face. "why arent we coming back?" his face grew grim, but he wouldnt answer. my eyebrows furrowed. i set my hand on his shoulder and turned him away from my dresses. "answer me..." nervous tears filled my eyes. he sighed and took me in his arms.

"because...its not safe here anymore." he pushed me away, grasping my sholders. "i dont know why, but someones after you. whatever they want, they want it bad enough to kill." my eyes froze in shock. everything hit me. being chased, my sisters death, the threatening note.

"who?" i demanded. he shook his head, indecating that he didnt know. i went to my closet, resuming the job howl started. "what do i need?"

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i found myself, sophie pendragon leaving the town i said to never leave again. with that so was gone the peaceful life i loved, the beautiful home i cared for and a place that i knew front and back. i was supprised the three men- (well, i guess markl counts as a half...) stood with faces that had no loss.not a step tripped, not a sweat broke from thought, all and more i did the whole trip.

not a soul spoke the whole way. there was the accasional soft cursing murrmir of calsifer, but it fell quickly egnored. i suppose it would have been more than that if it wasnt for the fact that he sat in a small culdron in howls hand.

things were going to change, more than we realized. even then i knew it, though i just barely touched the surface of the truth.

ok, i no this 1s a little short...i'll make another 1 later thats longer. its just not right to get into something as big of a clue for next chapter with this 1. please stick around!!!


	4. Chapter 4

heyy sorry its been a wile...

i finally wrote something up...it was like, 3 in the morning when i wrote this so sorry if it sux, i just wanted to let you guys no im here. ill try and come back and edit it tomorrow.

comment me about anything you dont like or anything i need to inprove on...

Howl slowed to a stop and turned.

"somethings wrong." he whispered, his eyes fixed to the east. Howls hands gripped my shoulders and pushed me back towards Markl. "stay together. Markl, watch after Sophie. I'll be right back." He ran and kicked off the ground, his black wings bursting into flight. With a flap or two he rose up in the air, and glided gracefully into the horizon.

"Well, there he goes again." calcifer complained. "leaving us all behind to go kill himself. Smart, Howl, real smart." I scouled.

"Oh, hush, calcifer." I snapped, "hes just making sure its safe." I was already irritated enough as it was. I hadnt eaten since we'd left, and the wind was making me sore. The last thing I needed was for calcifer to complain.

Markl groaned, and toppled back onto the ground. "I dont want to walk anymore, Sophie. I think my legs are going to diee..." I knew exactly how he felt. I sighed, and sat next to him.

"I know, Markl." I said softly, looking off where howl disappeared. "we all want to go home."

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silence fell over us. we were all too tired; too worried to talk. it had been an hour since Howl left. the gold streaks of early morning were now gone, and the fiery sun beakoned overtop of us. i knew Howl was alright--he always was. but i couldnt help but wonder.

calcifer crackled, and gave off a herby smell--we'd been feeding him grass and flowers since the twigs under him burned to ash.

"hey, can you hear that?" calcifer said. His voice broke my daze, and I looked up to him.

"what?"

"shhh--listen." silence fell over us.

_booshhhhh... booshhhh... booshhhhhh..._

The ground shook gently.

Something flickered in my heart and sparked my curiosity. i knew what it was. it was there, like a shattered peice of clay that only had half a form. i scrutinized my thoughts. It was there. I knew it---this had happened before...

"what is it?" markl asked.

"shhhhh..." I hushed, easing my way to my feet.

_booshhhhh. booshhhhhhhhhh._

"it sounds like..." my heart stopped_. them_. the thought rung in my head like an echoing voice.

memories of the night three days ago flashed before me.

My heart pounded hard against my chest till it hurt. I was breathing heavily, but my lungs opened to nothing. Panic consumed me like a curse, and I forgot everything; all I could feel was pain, all I could see was fear, and I could hear someone whispering to me, but I couldnt remember my own language, or even my name...but something found its way to my tounge---a word that saved our lives.

"Run." I muttered. I began stepping backwards.

_**BOOOOSHHHHH...**_

A titanic creature rose from the trees in the east; midnight black with eyes of crimson and feathers that gleamed in the sun.

"MARKL, RUNN!!!!!!!!" I screamed, grabbing calcifer and turning to sprint.

The creatures screams burst my ears till tears ran down my eyes, but I ran; I ran as fast as my legs would take me, pushing Markl ahead. It was after us. Coming at such an incredible speed it wouldnt have mattered if we were standing still.

Its shadow was biting my heels. The pressure of its beating wings was pulling me back under it. I was done.

_Sophie...Sophie, dont give up!_ my heart jumped.

"Howl..." I whispered. I turned my head to see.

_Im coming!_ a flash of black clouded my sleepy eyes, and an iron bar slammed into my chest, lifting me from the ground. Calsifer fell.

"Sophie!" Howl cried.

"Howl--" I coughed. He'd crushed my lungs and blown the wind out of me; speaking made me choke.

"sorry about tackling you like that-- I didnt really have time to be gentle." he said, talking above the howling wind.

The beast screamed behind us, the sound making me wince.

"MARKL!" I cried, my eyes growing big.

"dont worry, Sophie." he replied, "Theyre not after him." I sighed in relief.

Howls twinkling eyes looked ahead, and his powerful wings shot us up into the sky.

I dared look over his shoulder.

There it was. Its massive eyes, each the size of my head glared at me with a hatred that gave me chills. It had feathers, but it was far from a bird; it had teeth that mashed together into a grimace, and two long slits I guessed was its nose. Its face itself planted fear into my soul. The thought of what it could do drove me mad.

I closed my eyes and tried not to look at it.

"HOLD ON!!!!" he screamed to me.

My nails dug into his skin and I burried my face in his chest to scream. he tipped down and shot like a bullet to the ground. Howl covered me as we dove into a cluster of dense trees, in attempt to lose it. It sounded like a bomb when the creature hit. the trees snapped like twigs giving way, and it roared in anger, bouncing back over us.

We pulled back out, Howls face gleaming.

"HOWL!!" I cried, pointing back. Swiftly he slipped out of the way of its pwerful tail. He swerved over to the side, and headed strait on towards the mountains.

"Sophie," howl said, "dont move." I froze where I was.

Howl squeezed me close, and flipped. His wings tucked in, and we shot between the crack of a cliff. The beast crashed hard. It was dead before it hit the ground.

I smiled.


	5. Chapter 5

It's been about 6 years since I started writing this fanfiction. I was 13 years old at the time, and I just wanted some way (any way) to get my stuff out there for people to read. I didn't expect much from it then. It was more of just a way to pass the time during my isolated years in Jr. High. But considering I will be turning 20 in august, and I'm still getting feedback, I figured it was worth returning to. I want to apologize for the extremely long wait, and for my horrible spelling and grammar. Re-reading it made me cringe. I can't promise the quality has improved too much over the years. I am no English major. Review me accordingly. Thank you. :)

There seemed to be a stillness about me. A single, ringing tone seemed to muffle all other sounds. I looked up at howl. His face looked stiff. Focused. Calm. I wondered if it was all a mask, covering the same emotions that were impairing me from head to toe.

The ringing began to fade. The flaps of his massive black wings slowly overpowered the adrenalin pulsing through my ears. I felt reality snap back. And I realized the situation that was presented to me.

We slowly landed beyond the cliff, and I pried my way out of howls arms, breaking into complete hysteria. I couldn't breathe. My heart pounded so fast, the beats were nearly incomprehensible. I felt sick. So very sick. And I felt it would never let up.

Through my tear-filled gasps I was able to let out a few words.

"What was that?!" I whined towards howl. He was turned away from me. His long, boney fingers ran through his hair.

"I thought I recognized the smell." He said. His voice was soft. "They're called Hekate Dragons. More of a demon, if you ask me. They reside in the caves of the continents north of here. Sophie. He's gone. It's safe." I fell to my knees, nearly ignoring the answer. I tried to wipe the tears from my eyes.

Howl folded his legs in front of me. He gently grabbed the back of my neck and tapped his forehead to mine, muttering something foreign under his breath. A spell. A false calm washed over me. It felt so….plastic. But easy. I took a deep breath of relief, giving into howls go-to remedy for stress.

"What do we do?" I asked quietly.

"We go find Marcl and Calcifer." He replied. "I'm sure they're just as shook up as we are." He chuckled, and pulled me to my feet.

We both knew that wasn't the question I was asking. The situation at hand was so much deeper than one event. Howl wasn't going to give me answers. He was too concerned with my sanity to stress me with these things. _Howl wouldn't..._

_._

The crickets seemed to consume the outdoors. They lurked in the basements, hid in alleyways and scurried through streets where I grew up. But out here they engulfed everything. This was their domain. And my ears fell victim to their numbers.

The dark surrounded us completely. There was a thick sheet covering everything beyond Calcifers sleepy reach, and through the top of this sheet were holes that we call stars, thousands of them, smiling down at us. They were so old and wise. Always dependable.

Howl slept silently by my side. Marcl snored quietly a few feet away. And in-between us was Calcifer, dimly illuminating us all. His flames were low. His beady eyes were closed. I stared straight into him, contemplating my questions.

"Calcifer." I whispered towards him. A sleepy crackle responded. "Calcifer!" I whispered slightly louder. The dim light around us grew slightly bigger.

"huh? Hmm? Hnn?" he muttered groggily, spinning around until he saw my alert face, staring him in the eyes. "Sophie? This better be important…"

I put my finger to my lips and gently shushed him, as a friendly warning that our companions didn't need to hear any of this.

"Calcifer, what do you know about things from the north?" I asked.

"The north?" he took a long, sleepy pause.

"Yes. Surely you've been there."

"naturally." He replied in a soft tone. "It's not really the kind of place you want to vacation to. There are some pretty rough characters out there."

"Howl says that thing from yesterday was from the north." My heart began to race.

"…yeah." He replied. "Yeah it was."

"The other things that attacked me, the things that are after us. Are those from the north too?"

Calcifer paused.

"I don't know Sophie." He said. "I don't know if this is the right time to talk about all this…"

"To talk about what? If not now, then when?"

"Howl wouldn't like it." He replied.

"…and do you always listen to howl?" I replied smugly. "I'm in this too, Calcifer. You know what I want to know. I deserve to hear it."

Calcifer paused. He took a good look at howls sleeping face. And then looked straight back at me.

"Yes. They're from the north." His voice got very quiet. "They're all crazy up there, I'm tellin' ya. Constantly fighting each other. So much war for so many generations….it starts to stick to your soul after a while. They just want to drag everything to hell. Even I couldn't stand it up there."

I could sense the fear in his voice. What could strike fear into the heart of a free fire demon?

"Why are they here? Why are they after us? What do they want with howl?" I pried for more answers.

"Howl?" Calcifer looked confused. "Sophie. This has nothing to do with howl. They're after _you."_

I suddenly went quiet. _Me? _Why me? What did I do? It had to be Howl. It was always Howl, I was just some tool to get to him. Calcifer was mistaken.

"Why would they want me?" I asked.

"The hell if I know." He replied. "We always knew you were special, Sophie, we just didn't know _how._ These 'northerners' figured it out. That's all we really know. And since they went after your…" I winced. _My sisters. _"…well. We figure it's something in your blood." I took a deep breath. Howl was right not to tell me. It just brought up more questions than answers. But I was glad that I knew. "Just don't tell howl, alright?"Calcifer continued. "He'd kill me." I shook my head. His secret was safe with me. "He blames himself, you know. All this magic. The more you were around it, the more things started to…change."

Apparently there were consequences to every good situation in my life. I didn't respond to Calcifer. We both figured all that needed to be said was said. He drifted back off to sleep. I curled back into howls arms. But I had a feeling sleep wasn't a luxury I would have for a very long time.


End file.
